


First Impressions

by daisydoctor13



Category: Holby City
Genre: AU, Canon Divergence, F/F, Halloween, Holby Halloween Monster Mash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27336583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisydoctor13/pseuds/daisydoctor13
Summary: Elinor has competition in planning for her school's Halloween disco, but Serena is less bothered about her rival and more interested in the snippets of information about her mother. She should know not to judge a book by a review from a seventeen year old girl.
Relationships: Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe
Comments: 23
Kudos: 83
Collections: Holby Halloween Monster Mash 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Look this is a.... tenuous link to Halloween but I'm past caring.   
> Second chapter will be up at some point this week also I had no clue what to call this so eh there you go.

“OK Mum don’t freak out,” Elinor started as she closed, no, slammed the front door, announcing her arrival in the house.

“You do know if you say that I am automatically going to ‘freak out’,” Serena managed to keep her voice quite level, considering her mind had already gone through every possibility from Elinor losing her pencil case _again_ to an impending pregnancy announcement. “What have you done?”

“Urgh calm down. I haven’t _done_ anything. Well, not yet anyway. I know I need to focus etcetera etcetera if I want to get into Cambridge but I was thinking some extracurricular activity would help with my interview, make me a ‘well-rounded individual’.” She finished this with air quotes and a dull monotone voice, a mockery of university application criteria.

“Yes, dear but are you forgetting your drama and hockey and athletics?” Serena certainly hadn’t, the amount of time and money they were costing her.

“Yeah but everyone does things like that now, it doesn’t make you stand out. I was thinking more…charity. And what better way than showing my organisational skills, time-management and creativity than by being on the committee for this year’s Hallowe’en Haunt.”

“Since when have you been interested in that? Last year you said it was childish and that you and your friends were planning something much better and then I didn’t see you the next day because you were too hungover to come out of your room.”

“Well that’s because I was in Lower Sixth. This year it’s nostalgic. It’s ironic for the Upper Sixth to go and dress up and dance in the school hall.”

“Right,” she supposed she could see the logic. “Well as long as it doesn’t impact on your schoolwork, or on your UCAS. You know the deadline will be only a couple of weeks before Hallowe’en.”

“Yes, Mum, I _know_ you don’t need to remind me every day,” she huffed, but it wasn’t genuine annoyance. “Speaking of, I have a tonne of homework so I’ll be down when dinner’s ready.”

And with that she was gone with a flurry of energy, as quickly as she had appeared.

*

Serena had completely forgotten about the conversation until she had picked Elinor up from her afterschool drama club and she had slumped into the front seat without so much as a hello.

“Bad day?”

“You’ll never guess who else is on the committee,”

Serena gaped at her. “Committee?”

“For the Hallowe’en Haunt. God Mum do you ever listen to anything I tell you?”

She bit her remarks about having her own life to think about and merely apologised.

“Sorry, yes I remember. Who?”

“ _Charlotte Dunn_ ,” she sneered.

“Oh.”

Elinor’s biggest rival in lessons, which wasn’t helped by the fact that the school were pushing them both to apply for Cambridge. She had naively thought that they might get on due to both being top of the class, but Elinor took after her in her competitiveness. From what Elinor had said, Charlotte Dunn was from a family similar to their own – two doctors as parents and basically brought up by one, not separated by divorce but by her mother being away with the army. Serena had to hide a smile every time Ellie called her spoiled, considering how much she herself got away with, from both Edward and Serena.

“And to make it worse, we had to vote for who would be the lead, and we tied so Miss Francis said we should be co-leads.”

“Well, sometimes we have to work with people we don’t like. You just need to rise above it and do the best job you can. You know I’ve had to do the same with Guy Self.”

“You might rise above it at work but then you come home and moan about him to me, which is _exactly_ what I’m doing here, so can you just let me rant please?”

She had to give Elinor that one, so she indicated for her to continue.

“I heard her talking to Katie, apparently this is ‘just the thing she needs’ right now because she’s ‘going through a difficult time’ with her parents divorcing, something about her mum having an affair while on tour, and she needs the distraction. It’s like she’s the only one who has gone through that, acting as if she’s so special…”

Serena tuned out, deciding all Elinor needed was a sounding board, she wasn’t actually anticipating any response. Instead her mind wandered, pondering the information about the Dunns. She’d met Marcus a few times at school events, and crossed his path in work as well. He was an utterly unremarkable man, not unpleasant just boring. She had never met his wife, all she knew was that she was a trauma surgeon with RAMC. Marcus had very rarely mentioned her, and Serena was fairly sure she hadn’t been to any of the concerts that Charlotte had been involved in, although she guessed she would never have had reason to be introduced. She didn’t have an initially high opinion of her, wondering how she could leave her two children to be brought up by their father, but hearing that she had also been unfaithful soured it further.

“…so anyway I said that because you were the deputy CEO that you’d be able to get us a load of stuff for decorations from the hospital.”

She was quickly brought back into the room with Elinor looking at her expectantly.

“Hmm?”

“Urgh,” Elinor rolled her eyes. “I said that we’re going to do a haunted hospital theme, or like a zombie attack where all the patients have been infected. And you can get us things for decorations, right?”

“Elinor you can’t just use hospital equipment for a school party, the NHS is on a tight enough budget as it is.”

She saw the drop in her daughter’s expression and managed to cut off the tantrum that was threatening to be unleashed.

“Tell you what, there’s often things we get rid of because it’s out of date and we can look online to buy the rest. Also, Donna bakes and is fantastic at decorating so we can ask her to come up with something. I think it’s a very imaginative theme.”

This seemed to satisfy Ellie, who clapped her hands together before reaching for her phone, clearly indicating that the conversation was over for now.

*

The day of the party came and Serena had never been more glad for Halloween, because it meant that this would finally be over. She had spent the last however many weeks trekking around town, taking deliveries of skeletons and god only knew what else, raiding the education department for any broken anatomy models that they no longer wanted, and ‘decorating’ lab coats and old scrubs ready for the night.

In a way, Ellie had done the hospital a favour, because noone tended to get rid of old equipment, no matter how long it was since it was last used, and so Serena’s purge had left room for more storage and given the hospital a much more organised feel. Her house, however, was chaos, and she couldn’t wait for it to be cleared once more.

Ellie had been true to her word, and had focussed on her university application first, but since that had been submitted she had been entirely preoccupied by this and on outdoing Charlotte. Over the weeks she had given Serena a few more snippets of information about the mysterious ex-Mrs Dunn, apparently, she was now permanently back in Holby following a medical discharge and Charlotte would be remaining with her father. It had started as an amicable split, but once the affair had come to light it had turned nasty. She did feel sorry for Charlotte, despite Ellie saying she was playing it for all she could, it couldn’t be easy to go through that in her final year at school and Ellie seemed to have forgotten just how she had acted while Serena and Edward were separating.

“Come on, Mum, we need to go,” Ellie urged as she packed the last box into the car.

“I thought you said you were setting up from three, we don’t need an hour to travel to the school!”

“I know, but I want to get there early and start things before certain people can ruin my vision.” She finished with a dramatic wave of her hand.

“Fine,” it was easier to acquiesce in these circumstances, so she slipped her bag in between the bottles of fake blood and hoped she didn’t have to brake too hard during the journey.

*

“Ah perfect we’re here first, right let’s get going.”

Ellie was undoubtedly like Serena in her determination when she had her mind set on something. She instructed her on where to put things, drawing in each volunteer as they arrived and delegating various tasks. It was about ten minutes before Charlotte arrived, a slightly sour expression on her face as she saw that the hall has already been half transformed without her. She was followed in by a tall woman about Serena’s age, blonde hair – _that could do with a brush_ a voice at the back of her mind added – carrying what looked like a large bundle of surgical drapes. 

_So that is the elusive Mrs Dunn_ , mused Serena. She was a far cry from the stern standoffish army Major that Serena had pictured; she was unassuming, almost awkward in how she held herself, clearly feeling out of place.

“Oh of _course_ she got her mum to bring things in.”

“Ellie, dear, that’s exactly what you’ve done.”

She merely sniffed and muttered something about Serena being stingy about it, which she chose to ignore. Instead Serena watched as the blonde started to spread out the drapes and clamber up onto a chair to hang them from the ceiling.

Serena immediately crossed the room, laying out a step ladder next to her.

“Please, use this, standing on chairs is strictly forbidden in the school’s health and safety rules. There’s no point injuring yourself for the sake of finding proper equipment.”

The woman looked at her slightly bewildered for a moment, before taking her offered hand to step down onto firm ground. She was more brusque than she intended, realising she probably sounded like some jobsworth from the school, but it had come from a place of concern. Luckily the abrupt nature of their introduction didn’t throw the woman off for long.

“I suppose you’re right, not sure my back could cope if I fell off that. Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Serena Campbell, Elinor’s mother. And you must be Mrs Dunn,”

“Ah, Wolfe, actually, although please call me Bernie.”

“Of course, sorry, Ellie said about, um, the divorce, you know how teenage girls gossip.” She tried to still herself as a slightly amused expression played on Bernie’s face.

“Oh no, I was never Mrs Dunn. Didn’t suit me, somehow, being a ‘Mrs’. And I married after I qualified so it was easier to keep my maiden name. I see you’ve also been dragged into this organising palaver; would you mind giving me a hand as I hang these, make sure they’re level?”

She patted out the first drape and Serena couldn’t help but let out a “wow”. The drapes had been painted with silhouettes, hands grabbing at them as if from the other side, trying to get out, with ‘Infection risk, keep out’ tape running across the front.

“Did you paint this? It’s incredible.”

At that Bernie blushed and nodded her head, glancing at Serena through her fringe, making her look rather adorable. Serena didn’t have time to think about it as Elinor called her over and she shot an apologetic glance towards Bernie. Hopefully they would have chance to converse later once the party was in full swing.

*


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right I'm posting this before my computer crashes again and I lose it all again 
> 
> many thanks again to redvines for setting this up, and also to batnbreakfast for the writing sprints which meant i actually finished this!

Serena had built up in her mind a stuffy stand-offish army surgeon and had dreaded having to hold a conversation with this woman who, from what she had heard, held no similar values with herself. It seemed she had been completely wrong. While Bernie was clearly not the most extroverted, especially not when compared to Serena, she was friendly and soft spoken and they shared anecdotes of work. It built further into almost gossip about mutual acquaintances and then their children and the school. It was very much small talk but that was to be expected from being complete strangers, and she couldn’t help during the conversation noticing the way Bernie’s hair shone in the dimmed lights, or the way her scrubs clung to her body, showing off a lithe frame. It had been a while since she had been attracted to someone, even longer since that someone was a woman, but Serena knew herself well enough to be able to put a word to what she was feeling.

She was conflicted, because she as a rule, couldn’t stand cheaters. She also still couldn’t quite grasp how a mother could be away from her children for large parts of the year. She could tell from Bernie’s demeanour however, that she loved her children very much and had worked her hardest to balance her passion for her career with her family, and Serena couldn’t exactly disagree with that, having done it herself. In fact, she was probably just as guilty for being caught up in work and not giving Elinor as much attention, it was just that she was at home rather than in a different country, so in her own mind she was there. They didn’t go into the details of Bernie’s divorce, it wasn’t exactly the time or the place, but Serena had a gut feeling there was more to the story than Elinor had heard.

The lights came up all too soon for Serena’s liking. The conversation had been flowing well and she just wanted to continue being in Bernie’s company. Unfortunately, they were both dragged off by their respective daughters to start the big clear up operation. Elinor was ecstatic with how it had gone: everyone had enjoyed themselves and they thought they’d raised a lot of money for their chosen charity.

As they were packing the final bits into the boot of the car, a soft hand fell on Serena’s shoulder, startling her slightly.

“Sorry, I wanted to catch you before you go. Thank you for making tonight actually enjoyable, chaperoning a hoard of hyperactive teenagers wasn’t exactly my idea of a fun night out.” Bernie was again looking at her through her fringe, eyes crinkled and a shy smile on her lips. “It was lovely to meet you, Serena.”

Serena bit her lip before taking a plunge. “How about a drink sometime? It would be nice to talk more, in a better environment.”

She couldn’t quite read the expression on Bernie’s face and hoped it wasn’t too obvious that she had what could only be described as a crush on her. She felt a strange connection between them and at least wanted to start a friendship with Bernie if nothing more.

“Ah, yes I’d like that. You’ll have to suggest a place, I’m afraid I don’t really know the good spots in town. Uh, shall I give you my number?”

As they exchanged phones Ellie made a pointed sigh and slammed the car door shut as she got in. Serena found herself once again apologising for her daughter’s behaviour but Bernie shrugged it off.

“I know how difficult teenage girls can be,” she nodded over to Charlotte who was practically tapping her foot as she stood waiting. “I’ll look forward to seeing you again, Serena.” Her hand lingered slightly as she passed Serena’s phone back and she felt a shiver travel up her arm. All too soon she strode across the car park, leaving Serena to join Elinor in the car.

“Elinor do you think you could lose the attitude please?”

“I just want to get home.”

“Yes, so do I but I’ve sacrificed a lot of time to help you tonight, the least you could do was let me talk to Bernie for a few minutes.”

“Yeah so you could organise a date.”

Serena glanced across at her, trying to decipher her expression.

“It’s not a date, we’re meeting up as friends.”

“Yeah, right,” Elinor snorted. “I saw you checking her out, you fancy her.”

The turn of the conversation surprised her slightly, but she was trying to be more open with her, not wanting secrets to be barriers to their relationship.

“Well, she is an attractive woman, but –”

“You know she’s a lesbian, right?”

“What?”

“Yeah, that affair she had was with a woman, and the divorce is because she doesn’t want to live a lie anymore or because she’s ‘discovered herself’ or something.”

“How would I have known that?”

“It might have come up; you were talking non-stop the whole night. So, is it a date then?”

She sighed, her attempts to get Ellie to drop this topic weren’t working and she just didn’t know how to answer that question, especially not with the new information just supplied. Not that it excused an affair, but from what she’d seen Bernie hadn’t struck her as a serial cheater.

“What would you think about it if it was?”

“Well I wouldn’t exactly be happy about it.”

“Oh, and here I was thinking I’d brought you up to be openminded and accepting.”

“No, I don’t care that you’d be going out with a woman, I’ve seen you watching anything with Gillian Anderson in.”

She coughed slightly, she thought she could keep a neutral expression but clearly her daughter saw through that.

“So what’s the problem?”

“It’s _Charlotte’s_ Mum,” she pulled a sour face.

“I really think you need to let this go, what is your problem with her?”

Ellie just huffed in a way that said ‘you wouldn’t understand’ and turned up the radio, starting to sing along.

*

Serena had faced many difficult decisions in her life and always felt sure enough to go with her guts, but they were frustratingly quiet for Serena’s current problem. What should she wear for a date that might not be a date? She couldn’t go too dressy if she had misjudged and looked a fool, but also if there was any chance there could be more than friendship between them she wanted to look her best.

She decided on slightly more make up than she would normally for work, some dress trousers and a wine red blouse with a deep v neck, buttoned up with no camisole underneath. Despite the delay in getting ready, she still had plenty of time before she was meeting Bernie at the bar. She could feel her nerves on edge, not quite sure what to expect from the evening. She liked certainty, to know where she stood and Bernie had made her feel quite at sea. She poured herself a small glass of wine in an attempt to settle her nerves.

They had been texting fairly regularly in the week since they had met. Bernie’s texts always came across as quite short, to the point of brusque, but Serena suspected it was more due to Bernie’s use of technology than her actual manner and she could definitely have interpreted a few of her responses as flirtatious.

*

As she approached the bar she could see Bernie already there, leaning by the door with one foot up against the wall. She noticed her hastily shoving something into her pocket and the faint smell of vapour met her nose. Bernie dipped her head guiltily, knowing Serena had seen.

“I’ve gone electric, trying to give up since I left the army.”

Serena chuckled. “I’m not going to give you a lecture, you’ve been taught it all before.”

“What they don’t teach you is how bloody hard it is to stop. Just needed one to, uh, settle me I guess.”

There was a strange look in Bernie’s eye which disappeared as soon as Serena had noticed it. She briefly paused to consider what she’d just said. If Bernie needed something to calm her, was that because she was expecting this to be more than meeting as friends?

She glanced at Bernie a moment, appreciating the skinny jeans that clung to the shape of her legs and her hair that framed her face in messy curls. There was no doubt about it, she was very attractive. She had two options as she saw it, and she was too old to be faffing around second guessing what was happening so she took a deep breath.

“Look, I just want to be clear on something, um, is this a date? Because, you know, kids talk and get things round their necks but Ellie said…that you’re, well, that you might prefer women,” she paused to see a slight look of shock on Bernie’s face, could instinctively tell she was about to apologise or back out and she quickly continued. “I mean, I do to, well not prefer as much as appreciate any gender, but anyway what I’m trying to say is that I’d rather like it if this _was_ a date.”

The colour had risen in Bernie’s cheeks and she looked down at her feet, making Serena panic that she had got the wrong end of the stick herself. When she met Serena’s gaze again relief washed over her when she met Serena’s gaze again with a sparkle in her eye and that same shy smile on her lips.

“Well, Ellie was right. I didn’t want to presume, when you asked, but I uh, I think I’d rather like that too.”

She had stepped towards Serena and she felt an almost gravitational pull towards Bernie, closing the gap. With the confusion cleared she just wanted to be close to her and it seemed Bernie had the same thought. She suddenly couldn’t help herself, encouraged by the glass of shiraz she’d already had, so she leant in closer to Bernie and pressed their lips together. They lingered there a moment, chaste but oh so soft and it was only the door banging open that brought them apart, reminding them where they were.

Bernie smiled softly at her and offered the crook of her arm which Serena took gladly.

“Shall we?”

*


End file.
